It has been way too long, I have finally freed up sometime for an update so here it is:
Raid in Force
Outskirts of Lootera, Huntress
Kerensky Cluster
6th March 3120 The sky over the former homeworld of Clan Smoke Jaguar Huntress was on fire as DropShips and aerospace fighters entered the atmosphere and engaged the Society’s defenders. “This is Khan Petra Furey of Clan Smoke Jaguar; we have returned home! Glory to the people of Clan Smoke Jaguar.” The leader of Clan Smoke Jaguar declared as her Shadow Cat OmniMech dropped on its jump jets from the Union C-class DropShip Tigerspire.
From the ground weapons fire rose towards the falling BattleMechs and Battle Armoured troopers as several OmniMechs, Battle Armour and ProtoMechs moved to engage them. A cluster of Smoke Jaguars was nowhere near enough forces to invade Huntress, but conquest was not their goal, today they were here to challenge the Society’s rule, awaken the population and salvage as much as they could which was why as part of this joint operation the Nova Cats had provided an entire clusters worth of salvage equipment as well as trained techs to operate them during battlefield conditions. This unit blurred the line between that of a tech support unit and a combat unit which made many within the Smoke Jaguars uneasy.
When Furey had first heard of the unit she had been shocked that a Clan had embraced an Inner Sphere philosophy so readily and was curious to see them in action. As well as that the Nova Cats had unleashed another surprise as well as the Bug-Eye class ship Storm, the Drake-class Corvette Foxhound and the Carrack-class Transport Eon Trespass in the deep periphery Khan Furey had been surprised by the arrival of the Tetrarch-class Battle-cruiser Norsel. Such support from a Clan that once classed her own as enemies had humbled Khan Furey but it had also lit a question with her, if the other Clans were as enthusiastic about returning to the Homeworlds as Clan Nova Cat, why hadn’t they returned before now?
“Ten metres!” The computer called out to her “jump jet fuel low… jump jet fuel empty” the Shadow Cat called out to Petra she flexed the OmniMech’s knees and prepared for landing. The forty-five-ton machine landed heavily on the dark soil of Huntress as laser fire and missiles flew past her Petra Furey opened up the communication grid.
“Clan Smoke Jaguar has returned” she communicated intent on reaching as many of the people in Lootera as possible, this city was once her Clan’s capital but since their fall the city too had fallen on hard times, she could see in the distance that entire apartment blocks had been burned out and left in ruin. Seeing the state of the city made her angry it appeared the other Clans and the Society had treated her people terribly. “Come and face us!”
As she spoke, she saw a four-legged ProtoMech run past her Mech followed by a pair of battle armoured troopers she twisted the Shadow Cat’s torso and blasted the ProtoMech with two large lasers coring the enemy unit as her Mech was rocked by missile fire. “They are among us!”
From all side’s missiles, lasers and autocannon fire flew into the mix as more units engaged their targets but these units were not firing on Furey’s units instead Clan Nova Cat’s Watch Cluster, which was equipped with stealth armour, suddenly revealed themselves within Furey’s unit and engaged the Society forces. The appearance of an entire additional cluster of forces quickly overwhelmed the Society forces closest to their forces and forced the others back towards Lootera. “Push them back, annihilate them!” She ordered, she paused for a moment realizing how ironic it was that her forces were planning on wiping out their enemy after what happened to her own Clan on this world. She glanced down and saw her private channel with the Dezgra Cluster’s commander was active “Star Colonel Ariana Nostra, go ahead” she said welcoming input from the Nova Cat commander.
“Khan Furey, we should not over extend against these people, we do not know how much they have fortified” she cautioned the Khan.
“Aff, I agree Star Colonel, but my people need a victory like this on this soil.” She said watching her Lost Ones push forwards into the Society’s retreat “also I want as much salvage as possible, command your people to get to work on the units nearby, any weapon system we have not encountered before, any unknown type of unit is of interest” she commanded.
“Our salvage crew is well aware of the briefing Khan Furey” Nostra said, Furey could hear the annoyance in her voice and could not help but smile. “But we did not just come here for a Smoke Jaguar victory and the salvage from broken BattleMechs and ProtoMechs.”
“I’m well aware” she replied off the cuff intentionally using a contraction to keep the Nova Cat Watch commander off balance, they were allies in this operation but she had no intention on letting them run everything, to be Smoke Jaguars her people had to act like them. Petra glanced down and saw one of her Star Captains was also wishing to speak “you have your orders” she said switching channels not waiting for Nostra to reply. “Go ahead Loric”
“Khan, the dezgra Society have retreated into the city firing inferno loaded missiles into the buildings to cover their retreat we will be welcoming ambush to chase them into Lootera…” he briefed her quickly, she could see his Clan-modified Grasshopper was standing on the outskirts of the city firing at long range. He did not mention the civilians at risk and nor had she expected him to, these people had not been Smoke Jaguars for a very long time, they were not their concern.
“Understood continue to fire at targets of opportunity, fall back to the drop-zone the Nova Cats are setting up salvage operations, I want out Techs out and assisting them, we need to make sure they do not take the lion’s share of the salvage.” She had contracted the Nova Cats to assist her people, they had the units, the WarShips and the personnel but this was a Smoke Jaguar mission.
“Aff, Khan Furey, it is nice to be home Quiaff?” He asked, he was too young to remember calling Huntress home, being a freeborn who had grown up on the Twin Sons but she appreciated the sentiment.
“Aff, it is, just a shame we will not be staying.” She admitted
“Maybe not today” Loric responded she could see his two stars were arcing back towards the landing zone leaving her with her thoughts. The Smoke Jaguars were quickly securing their landing zones but just landing on Huntress was not their goal instead of remaining silent she decided to wake the beast of Huntress.
“This is Khan Petra Furey to the people of Huntress, we are Clan Smoke Jaguar, you were our people once. We failed you against the stavag Inner Sphere, the Clans failed you against the Society…” She said broadcasting to the local communication grid “this is your world, fight for your world, fight for Huntress!” She called out to the population she had no idea if it would make a difference but it was not her job to fight for the people, if they wanted it, they had to fight for themselves. She needed to win her people and the people of Huntress time so she switched communication channels “Jaguar Actual to Norsel Actual.”
“Nosel Actual, go!” the commanding officer of the Norsel which was in high orbit answered.
“Have you identified the location of the planetary HPG signals?” She asked, she hated that she had to make this decision but it was a necessary evil. It was also not a Smoke Jaguar that would be pulling the trigger.
“Affirmative Storm has identified primary, secondary and a tertiary signal emanating from the surface. Tertiary signal may be from a mobile emitter on a vehicle of BattleMech.” The WarShip commander reported one of the reasons she had wanted the Storm along in the first place was the Bug-Eye’s advanced signals.
“Drop the anvil on all targets Jaguar Actual Out!” She commanded it was her decision, she would deal with the consequences. From orbit the Tetrarch-class Battle-cruiser boosted out of its position doing a flyby over Huntress. As it closed on the world the forward quad mount of class-45 naval lasers activated in a single strike which targeted the planetary HPG station streaks of red light burned through the atmosphere from the WarShip bearing down on Lootrea City. Three of the laser blasts struck their target from above burning through the Hyper Pulse Generator dish ruining it and the station below as the blasts struck bedrock a massive explosion consumed the entire building brining it all to the ground. Naval strikes from orbit were never perfect like they were seen in holo-movies unlike what was broadcast in the news and in entertainment there was always collateral damage, always a price for such a barbaric act. The fourth high powered capital laser was off target and burned along a nearby street incinerating civilian vehicles and pedestrians alike killing dozens. The power of the naval blast combined with the destruction of the HPG Station shattered windows for half a dozen blocks I either direction.
The Norsel’s nose then came up before the ship smashed into the atmosphere but the eight hundred-and-thirty tonne vessel did not arch away from the planet instead its engines kicked in again and it flew over Huntress once in position its forward port weapons and broadside weapons opened fire. From orbit the precision naval lasers tore down through the atmosphere flattening two secondary HPG sites and a miliary base where the tertiary signal had come from. Secondary explosions from the strikes levelled civilian homes and storage areas around the HPGs dozens more civilians would have been killed or made homeless by the strike. The Nosel then boosted away from the world escaping Huntress’ gravity well their actions dishonourable but classed as necessary by Khan Petra Furey she had decided on this course of action before they had even jumped into the system. The Nova Cats protested engaging targets within the city and they had fought in Circles of Equals with the Khan, which she had won, even then they had demanded the orders in writing before they had agreed to the actions.
---
For three days the population of Huntress had risen up against the Society with mass rioting across the globe in every settlement where there was a population. Some people had hidden weapons and were now openly using them against the Society, others were attacking their oppressors with clubs made out of metal and wood. The society had cracked down heavily on the people and thousands had been killed in the streets across Huntress in places the streets literally ran red with Smoke Jaguar blood. Pretra Furey hated what the Society was doing but she had no choice. The population rising up against their Society oppressors was something that her force could use as a distraction allowing them to operate while the Society dealt with the population.
So far, the mission was going well they had taken the Society on Huntress by complete surprise and they had already accomplished two goals the Nova Cat Dezgra force had drawn Society forces into a trap allowing them to salvage eight different designs which the two Clans had previously not known. They had also salvaged several weapons technologies including a variant of the Advanced Tactical Missile fielded by the Clans. Petra herself had not used the technology, living in the arse end of the Free Worlds League made getting top-of-the-line Clan technology difficult at the best of times, but from what she had heard the Nova Cat salvage crews were over the moon at capturing the technology and already impressed with their findings. The other success had been the successful capture of a ProtoMech production facility nearly sixty kilometres south of the capital city the Nova Cats and Smoke Jaguars had overwhelmed local defences and gutted the facility stripping it of everything worth salvaging.
The biggest surprises however had been the arrival of an entire star of battle damaged BattleMechs painted in the colours of Clan Smoke Jaguar presented themselves at the gates of her encampment. She had allowed them in under guard and the seven MechWarriors onboard the Mechs dismounted five men and three women of various ages. They all stood at attention as she walked down the line of warriors they were of various ages, colours and condition. “Who speaks for you?” She demanded Petra had come straight from her Shadow Cat OmniMech, she wore only a charcoal-coloured jumpsuit over her coolant suit, her dark hair tied back in a ponytail, she did not care what she looked in she wanted answers.
“I am MechWarrior Lyle” a tall bald pale skinned warrior said in a deep voice, he was in his early forties and his only distinguishing feature a handle-bar moustache which was turning grey.
“Would you like to explain why you pilot BattleMechs in the colour of Clan Smoke Jaguar without any right to wear them?” She demanded looking at the warrior.
“The Warhawk is my father’s BattleMech” he stated “the others similarly are son, daughters and grand-children of Smoke Jaguars, their assets remained on this world hidden for decades until we returned them to the field.”
“Hidden…” Petra repeated walking away from him down the line a disgusted look on her face “hidden no doubt like you have hidden your heritage for all these years” she said stopping in front of one of the women “how could you have hidden away while the Society took control of your home?”
“Tell me Khan what was it like for your Jaguars hiding in the Inner Sphere and hiding your heritage? What was it like allying with a Succession State for survival? Or allying with our Clans enemies to return home…” she replied “you ask us what why we have hidden “Khan” but I think you know yourself that being Jaguar now is not the same as it once was, Quiaff?”
“Aff, we are not who we once were, we made choices to ensure our survival and ensure that Clan Smoke Jaguar could return” she answered justifying what she had done.
“Exactly Khan” the dark-haired woman replied
“What is your name warrior?”
“Andreja Tbrise” she answered the surname she used was not one that the Khan recognised “my father was a member of the Star League Defence Forces when they were stationed here. He remained behind after the Star League withdrawal to keep an eye on the Clans.” She answered in her thick native accent which was similar to the old Russian of Terra.
“A spy, Quiaff?”
“Aff”
“Surat” Petra swore “spying on the Clans and then siding with one?”
“My father decided that the people of Huntress, including my mother, deserved better and that he had to fight for it.” She answered Petra nodded and walked back along the line.
“By hiding…” the Khan commented
“We have been fighting for months!” Lyle snapped “Khan Furey, we have presented ourselves to you as we are Smoke Jaguars but do not question our dedication.”
“I appreciate that you have presented yourselves to us” Furey answered walking back along the line “but we are not here to fight for Huntress” she explained, she saw the shock on their faces, “Clan Smoke Jaguar is still rebuilding, we are still re-establishing ourselves in the eyes of the other Clans…”
“But the Nova Cats are here…” Andreja interrupted not understanding the situation nor that one does not simply interrupt the Khan.
“Aff, we contracted the Nova Cats, we have resources that they can use and exploit more extensively than us.” Pretra replied irritated at the interruption “we have to establish ourselves with all of the Clans before we can reclaim our home. You present yourselves as Clan Smoke Jaguar warriors so this is something you must understand.”
“Perhaps this is not the right time, Lyle” another of the MechWarriors said
“This is the only time” Lyle responded remaining in the line Petra looked at him “if this does not happen today then our people will have to wait.”
“The others, Quiaff?” She demanded looking at the man “you brought a force to my gates but you hide exactly what you have? We are Clansmen speak plainly or face me in a Circle of Equals.”
“We have eighty people, a mixture of personal weapons and light vehicles. These are our only BattleMechs and MechWarriors, we are aware that Clan Smoke Jaguar respect BattleMech forces over all else.” Lyle explained “we attended without the others to protect them but we cannot continue at the level we are, we need your help.”
“We have a mission here; you have presented your forces I am prepared to take you as Isorla and claim your forces as my own….” Petra began but she saw his hesitance
“you expected something else, Quiaff?”
“Anything short of the liberation of Huntress is not enough” a fourth warrior with a shaved head and a scar running across her face from the left of her forehead to lip said Petra ignored her and looked at Lyle.
“We came here to bring you information, Khan Furey” Lyle responded. “We know of a Smoke Jaguar Brian Cache that has remained untapped through all these years.” He said “unfortunately we do not have the forces to secure and hold the Cache ourselves. Khan Furey, we wish to serve Clan Smoke Jaguar but we also wish to secure our world, you could help us complete both tasks.” He suggested.
“What do you propose MechWarrior?”
“We have the location, your forces assist us in stopping the Society from securing the cache, we split the weapons within the facility and you leave us to continue to fight for our home in the name of our Clan.” Lyle requested Petra looked at the man, depending on the forces that he had they could be a worthy addition to her Clan unfortunately she had no way to transport them to the Inner Sphere and here on Huntress she had no way to support them.
“We have mission objectives on Huntress, our plan is to return to Huntress but the time has to be right…” She began
“We understand your position Khan Furey and we understand you cannot support us in the immediate term.” He explained exasperated, these warriors had presented themselves to Petra but they were desperate “but Khan this is a chance for us to hurt the Society and to give the people of our Clan’s Homeworld a chance against into the future.”
“You will be on your own” Petra warned but she could see the determination behind his eyes and she simply nodded her agreement. “Understood Star Commander, we’re in” she said giving Lyle her word of support.
---
Missiles, autocannons and lasers flew across the battlefield as the Smoke Jaguars and Society forces engaged in the largest battle which had occurred on Huntress to date. Huntress was not a pretty world, it was a hard warm world which many found to be too humid, the closer one travelled to the equator, like most worlds, the more intolerable it got.
That’s what made this location the perfect one for a cache. These caches, known as Brian Caches after the name for the Star League Defence Force’s Castle Brian fortifications, had been built by all of the Clans as reserves and fall-back points where a Clan could reinforce their Toumans. The equipment would likely be old but in the right hands any weapon was deadly.
Petra Furey’s Shadow Cat ran across the battlefield firing one of the large lasers against an enemy BattleMech the laser burned across the Mech’s round torso and then the other laser at a ProtoMech, the blast was strong enough to put the two-legged min-Mech on its back. She then triggered her OmniMech’s jump jets sending the Shadow Cat into the air as it took off her streak equipped short range missile achieved a lock on a group of battle armoured troopers the six missiles flew from the OmniMech as it jumped. The missiles landed in and around the group of troopers as a second Smoke Jaguar BattleMech opened fire on them with its autocannon showering the area with fire standard Clan engagement protocols, one-on-one duels, had been abandoned before the battle had been joined neither the people from Huntress or Petra’s Smoke Jaguars were willing to give the respect of honourable combat. When her Shadow Cat landed it was like a furnace inside the forty-five-ton OmniMech but Petra pushed forward running her OmniMech and continuing to fire, her Jaguars needed her to fight until she couldn't and that was exactly what she needed to do.
From the other side of the battlefield Star Commander Lyle marched his Warhawk methodically across the battlefield engaging first with the paired particle cannons on the left arm into one target savaging a Society vehicle’s side armour melting the plating and the wheels mounted there. He then fired the second set of paired cannons mounted on the other arm targeting a BattleMech obliterating the Mech’s arm even as his target reeled from the attack another hit slammed into the BattleMech as a gauss rifle slug ravaged the BattleMech. Like his Khan the Warhawk’s cockpit was a furnace as Lyle marched into across the battlefield.
Explosions rocked the Khan’s OmniMech as she took fire from the Society units armour exploded on the Shadow Cat but Petra also noticed that her OmniMech’s systems were acting differently. “Jaguar Prime to all units, anyone else experiencing issues after being hit these stavag enemies, Quiaff?” She demanded as the Shadow Cat’s heat sinks suddenly spiked despite her OmniMech’s weapons not being fired.
“Aff Khan, it is after being hit by their missile systems” MechWarrior Tanya confirming what Petra believed to be the case, not only were these ATM systems more accurate than the standard missiles they also appeared to have multiple different ammunition types as well.
“The stavag ATMs” another warrior called out “another volley set my Mech on fire.”
“We will make them pay” Petra cursed and pay the Jaguars made them. Over the course for the next sixty minutes the Jaguars picked apart the Society forces destroying dozens of units securing the cache. Petra decided that every example of the so called Improved Advanced Tactical Missile (iATM) launcher along with every surviving missile for the launcher. Most of the cache turned out to be designs of Star League-era vintage ancient BattleMechs and vehicles compared to what was available to the Clans but still capable, she turned them all over to the fighters that were going to remain on Huntress. The cache itself could not be used as a base but the resources gained from it would allow the Smoke Jaguars to fight and survive for longer both on Huntress and in the Inner Sphere.
Elsewhere on Huntress the Nova Cat forces which had been contracted by the Smoke Jaguars kept the Society on edge with raids using their stealth equipped units. This netted the Nova Cats quite a bit of captured equipment and information. Finally, before evacuating Huntress the Smoke Jaguars entered Huntress vast Osis-Rhyde Natural Reserve and the captured ten adult smoke jaguars five males and five females breeding pairs but also animals that Petra Furey’s scientists could use as paternal pairs for prides of smoke jaguars in the Inner Sphere. With Huntress cut off from the other Homeworlds due to the destruction of the HPG nodes the Smoke Jaguars and Nova Cats finally left Huntress after nearly a week of causing havoc for the Society. Behind they left a resistance movement of warriors and civilians ready to oppose rule being forced on them again.